Ardèche (07) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. It is located West to the Rhone River, North of Avignon and South of Lyon. Its name comes from the river, which runs through the whole department, rising in the North and joining the River Rhone in the south of the Department. You will be able to find various types of property for sale in Ardèche.
Val Pont d’Arc
Climate:
As Ardeche is very different from areas to areas, southern Ardeche (south of Aubenas) has a Mediterranean climate, which is very warm and sunny, enabling the olive cultivation.
The North of the department, which is called Haute Ardeche is shaped with small mountains (350 to 850m high), offering a temperate climate.
Western Ardeche is called Plateau Ardechois and has 1000m high mountains, offering a middle mountain climate and snow falls – in contrary to the other two.
Geography:
Ardeche is in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. It is surrounded by the departments Drome (East), Gard (South), Haute-Loire (West) and Rhone (North). The South of the department looks very much like the close Gard department and the Provence area in terms of climate, landscape, mentality and property style.
The region is located on the Cévennes Mountains, which are higher in the North of Ardeche and look more like small hills in the South or the department. Even if 45% of the territory is covered with forest, the Ardeche nature offers various landscapes, ranging from high mountains like the Mont Mezenc (1754m high) to 40 m high riverside plains.
Places of interest comprise the stunning cannyon of the Gorges de l’Ardeche, with canoeing activities in the South of the department and the Mont Gerbier de Jonc in the Northern part of Ardeche, where the River rises.
The properties in Northern Ardeche are usually stone farmhouses, with land, whereas in the South they are marked with the Provencal style of Mediterranean villas. The property market is very successful in Ardeche thanks to its location not far from Provence.
History:
The settlement of prehistoric man in Ardeche dates back 150,000 years. Remains of this period are the Cave Chauvet (in Vallon Pont d’Arc) and the several menhirs and dolmens we find throughout the department.
Ater the world wars, the department went on specializing in agriculture and orchards, but also began developing in technology and tourism.
In 2001, the nature park “Parc Naturel des Monts d’Ardeche” is created.
Gastronomy:
The North/South division we saw for geography and climate is the same for food specialities of the region.
We find in the North produce and recipes made of chesnut, cream or butter. Kids love the Crème de Marron, which you can eat with Crepes, ice creams or direct from the pot! The Cousina is a chestnut soup. The Bombine is a local dish made of potato, cheese, cream and lardons. The Crique is a gratted potato which has been made flat and roasted. The goats eat fragrant hebs on the hills and we use their flavourful milk to produce the AOC Picodon cheese.
In the South, the cuisine includes olive oil, tomato, garlic and hebs… just like in Provence! The Caillette is a speciality made of pork, which can be eaten either cold or hot. This recipe clearly shows the difference between the two parts of the department, as the Caillette contains more herbs in Southern Ardeche and more meat and fat in the Northern part.
Ardeche property market:
A property for sale in Ardeche can vary from € 120,000 for a stone village house, up to € 900,000 for a large villa with pool and 1.2 acre of land. Finding a property in Ardeche requires time and advice. Our consultants in charge of this area will be pleased to help you find your dream property in Ardeche.
Useful information:
Tourism office in Ardeche
http://www.ardeche.com
Maps of Ardeche
www.ign.fr
www.maps.google.fr
Our team of sale advisers at Sextant Properties will be happy to help you find a property in Ardeche. We have a large network of estate agents there. All of them are registered French estate agents and speak both French and English. Whatever the kind of property you are looking for: villa, farmhouse, longere, barn, gite, B&B, country house, mill, castle or chateau, we will do our best to find a property for sale in Ardeche matching your requirements. To find out more about our properties in Ardeche do not hesitate to contact us.